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Veil, Simone - still image [media]

Simone Veil is arguably the one person most responsible for advancing women’s legal rights in France during the twentieth century. As her country's first female Minister of Health, Veil fought against great opposition to have a woman's right to an abortion enshrined in French law. She went on to become the first woman—and the first Holocaust survivor—to be appointed president of the European Parliament. The recipient of numerous honors in the Jewish world, Veil is shown here receiving a Hagaddah from Yeshiva University President Norman Lamm at an International Student Scholarship Fund dinner.